On this day in 1968, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Ralph Henry Johnson had long wanted to be a Marine.
“Ralph must have been about five years old,” his sister Helen explained. “We were coming out of the Lincoln Theater, and he saw these three Marines across the street. I guess he just wanted to be a part of it. He said, ‘One day, I’m going to wear that uniform.’”
And that’s just what he did, as soon as he was old enough. He enlisted, went to boot camp in San Diego, and was in Vietnam by late 1967.
The young private was loved and respected by his fellow Marines.
“Ralph, he was a very giving person,” LCpl. Alex Colvin reflected, “and he was the only Marine that I know that did not drink and did not swear. And he would just read the Bible.”
Another officer, Lt. Patrick “Clebe” McClary, hit it off with the 19-year-old Marine as well. McClary was a little older, but both were from the Charleston area, so they had much in common. The two developed the habit of reading southern ghost stories at night because it reminded Johnson of home.
All of that would change on March 5, 1968, as Johnson served with a 15-man reconnaissance patrol commanded by McClary.
Our Marines had been dropped off deep behind enemy lines.
“That last patrol was pretty tough,” McClary remembered. “We weren’t really patrolling. We were more a forward observer in the area that nobody had been to much. . . . We’re supposed to just get on the hill and look down into the valley. If you see any enemies, you would call in artillery or airstrikes.”
It was quiet at first—but then all hell broke loose.
Johnson’s Medal citation describes the “platoon-size hostile force” that attacked the small group of Americans just after midnight. They were being pounded by automatic weapon fire and grenades. McClary called for air and artillery support, but the fighting was intense.
At one point, Ralph was in a three-man fighting hole with two other Marines. McClary was also nearby. He was already badly injured, having lost one arm. Suddenly, an enemy grenade landed in their midst.
“[I’ll] never forget Ralph said, ‘Grenade!’ Colvin remembered. “Ralph jumped on a grenade, smothered it with his stomach.” McClary was astonished at what he was witnessing, too. “Blew himself in half,” he concluded, “to save my life and the life of two Marines with him.”
Thanks to Johnson, the Marines survived long enough for helicopters to rescue them at about 3:00 a.m.
Johnson would receive a posthumous Medal of Honor for his action, but he’s received other honors as well. A VA Medical Center in Charleston has been named for him, as has a guided missile destroyer. When it was commissioned in 2018, the Marines Johnson saved traveled to Charleston for the occasion. The town hosted multiple events in his honor.
“Ralph would be embarrassed [by the attention],” McClary said. “He would be shy. He would smile and be happy.” But his sister was pleased by the honor. “I would like for Ralph to be remembered,” she said. “He made the ultimate sacrifice. He served his country. He loved his country.”
“Black, white, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Korean—that’s all different shades,” McClary concluded. “But blood is red. The uniform is green. And we fight for freedom.”
Enjoyed this post? More Medal of Honor
stories can be found on my website, HERE.
Primary Sources:
Alex Heaton, The Ralph Johnson Story: No greater love than to lay down your life for a friend (ABC4 News; March 21, 2018)
Caitlin Byrd, ‘Heroic and selfless:’ Navy to commission ship in name of Charleston war hero Ralph Johnson (Post and Courier; March 22, 2018)
Inspiring portrait memorial of Marine who gave his life (U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs; March 4, 2020)
Matt Bise, Tales of Valor: Clebe McClary (Post and Courier; Dec. 26, 2017)
Medal of Honor citation (Ralph Henry Johnson; Vietnam)
Medal of Honor oral history (Ralph Henry Johnson; Vietnam)
Senior Airman Jared Trimarchi, Vietnam War hero shares his story (U.S. Air Forces Central; Jan. 17, 2014)